Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #34
How South Korea composts more than 90% of its food waste, wildfires in Greece and why Air NZ has dropped its 2030 climate target!
Hello folks! I am trying something new. I am switching to a shorter newsletter with 3 stories that I will send out every Wednesday (instead of the current 5 stories roughly every 2-3 weeks). Will continue having the 2 sections we introduced last time - ‘What can I do?’ and ‘The climate content recommendation’
Now on to today’s edition
🌞 Sunny news 🌞
1. A success story: How South Korea reduced food waste going to landfills by 90%
What are we talking about?
South Korea banned food scraps from being sent to landfills 20 years ago. This was primarily because the country was running out of space for landfills near its cities!
Households and restaurants can’t put their wasted food along with the other waste. The food waste has to be segregated and they have to pay for every kg of food waste collected from them.
There are private collection agencies that collect this food waste and take them to specially designed facilities that convert these food scraps to biogas, animal feed or fertiliser.
Now 20 years on, this system has allowed the food waste going to landfills to reduce by 90%!
Why does this matter?
Food waste rotting in landfills is one the biggest sources of methane, a greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming.
According to some sources (IPCC), food waste contributes to 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions!
Hence solutions like these that can reduce food waste going to landfills are a great lever in reducing GHG emissions!
Additionally, this could help in reducing food waste in the first place, by making people aware of how much food they waste (as it gets measured). Sadly though, that has not yet happened in South Korea.
Sources for further reading:
What can ‘I’ do? 😎
This is a new section that will bring to you a simple action you can do as a step towards leading a more sustainable life
Carry a bag when you step out!
Carry a bag whenever you go shopping (and ideally every time you step out, because I am sure not all our shopping is planned).
Yes, you could chose to get a paper bag in stead of a plastic bag. But even a new paper bag is still something additional that was manufactured. Even if was made from recycled paper, we need energy for recycling and the efficiency of recycling is never 100%. So the most sustainable bag is the one you already have. Carry it and avoid buying a new one when you can!
And you’ll also have one drawer less of paper bags you never use!
⛈️ Stormy news ⛈️
2. Devastating fires in Greece yet again: Climate change to blame?
What is happening?
A deadly forest fire is rapidly spreading through areas north of Athens as of Monday. The fire is spreading southwards and people are being evacuated from some places, including some neighbourhoods of Athens.
More than 700 firefighters, 199 vehicles and 35 water-bombing aircraft have been deployed and neighbouring countries such as France, Italy, Czech Republic, Serbia, Romania and Turkey have bolstered rescue operations.
What can this be attributed to?
Although wildfires are common in Greek summers, climate scientists say that unusually hot and dry weather and the prolonged drought linked to global warming make the blazes fiercer and more common.
Why does this matter?
Greece is one of the worst affected countries by climate change
Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, with temperatures here rising at roughly twice the global average.
The warming is most acute over central and southeastern Europe and around the Mediterranean
“The Mediterranean is a hot spot of the climate crisis,” says Dr Lagouvardos, research director at the National Observatory of Athens (NOA)
Extreme weather events have become more common in Greece, increasing by ~50% between 2010 and 2019.
Last year it had a record long heat wave lasting 14 days that contributed to EU’s largest ever wildfire
Sources for further reading
3. Air New Zealand becomes first major airline to drop 2030 climate goal
What are we talking about?
Air New Zealand dropped its 2030 climate goal, citing delivery delays of fuel-efficient aircraft and the affordability of alternative jet fuels.
It's 2030 target was to reduce carbon intensity by 28.9%, compared with 2019 levels.
The airline added it is working on a new short-term target and it remains committed to an industry-wide goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Why does this matter?
Aviation is a significant contributor to climate change and widely regarded as one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonize. In 2022, aviation was estimated to account for 2% of global energy-related carbon emissions and is growing faster than other transportation sectors.
The aviation industry is depending on more fuel efficient aircrafts and SAF (sustainable aviation fuels) to meet their emission reduction targets. This move and statement from Air New Zealand shows that developments in both of these areas are likely moving slower than expected.
Sources for further reading
Sailee’s climate picks
This is a new section where I’ll bring to you 1 piece of climate content I’d like to recommend that could be books, article, podcasts, movies etc.
This week’s recommendation is:
The Climate question: Can technology fight flooding in cities?
(BBC Podcasts)
This is a great 25 minutes episode on how South Africa is using drones and AI to deal with flooding. I was amazed!
You can read previous editions of the newsletter -
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #33
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #32
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #31
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